As a provider of marketing services to businesses large and small, the catchphrase on everyone's lips is content marketing or brand journalism. Social media marketing is so.....2010. Content drives the Internet, and pulls visitors and inquiries to a company's webpage. Good, bad, or ugly -- every website needs content. When thinking about different content categories, many clients disregard the humble FAQ list as a source for content. Frequently Asked Questions make sense for several … [Read more...]
First Instagram Ad Goes Live with Michael Kors Watch
Today's first paid Instagram photo went live. And there are more angry comments than good. (Thanks to social media pal Jane Ko for her tweet.) First instagram ad goes live feat @MichaelKors - more angry comments than good. pic.twitter.com/o9xPfnWgSa — Jane Ko (@atasteofkoko) November 1, 2013 I'm more of a fan of organic content as a way to attract eyeballs, but perhaps sometimes, you need a little push. What do you think of Instagram's Sponsored Photos? … [Read more...]
Google and Social Advertising: Still Not Facebook, But That’s OK
This afternoon I was asked to give comment to a Time magazine reporter on Google's recent decision to start personalizing some ads in its network -- namely, that you will start to see Facebook-like names and thumbnail photos in advertising throughout the Google network. While some people might think, 'Oh great, that's all I need,' we have Facebook to thank for the concept of social advertising and Sponsored Stories. What was once creepy and annoying is so ubiquitous that most consumers will … [Read more...]
Embed Codes Continue To Be a Reliable Tool, But Also Extend Monetization of Content
Embed codes are a social media manager's best friend. They are the fastest, most efficient, and most legal way of finding content published on social networks and then re-posting it to one's own blog or website. The embedded content jazzes up a website quickly (including this one), and also contributes to the site's SEO. The rich, multimedia content usually renders beautifully whatever the underlying content -- videos, photos, slideshows, even documents. Of course, embedding isn't … [Read more...]
What Yahoo Will Do with Tumblr
With the news that Internet behemoth Yahoo will buy blogging and content platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash has many analysts, including this one, wondering what will happen next. Yahoo clearly wants to buy its way into the social media elite. In December 2005, Yahoo bought social bookmarking site Delicious, but it later sold it in 2011 to the founders of YouTube. In September 2006, it offered to buy Facebook for $1 billion, but Facebook walked away. And Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer … [Read more...]
The Power of Adding One Letter to the End of a Company Name
Today's news that Toronto-based press release distribution company Marketwire is rebranding itself to Marketwired -- yes, you read that correctly, all they did was add a 'd' -- had me thinking: how much longer will press release companies continue to sell the traditional press release (i.e, exist)? (Share Clip) Oh, and the company has also poached Stu Ogwa, former VP of business intelligence of Yahoo, to join Marketwire as EVP of product and technology, according to … [Read more...]
Hoping That Social Media Will Fix Crappy Banner Ads
Long live the banner ad: it has managed to survive not only the dot com bubble but also Facebook's IPO. Yet few admit to wishing to perpetuate its existence. Talk of 'social advertising' usually means buying ads on Facebook, Promoted Trends on Twitter, or even the new SlideShare ads -- complete with inline lead capture -- on LinkedIn. A few companies have been hard at work at transforming the banner ad into a richer experience. A richer experience of course transfers into engagement -- … [Read more...]
IBM Develops an Enterprise Twitter Solution, But Will Anyone Buy It?
For those employees who tweet during the workday, wouldn't it be great to have a platform which allowed you to view all of the tweets and activity from all of your coworkers -- without the noise and clutter of the rest of Twitter? For most companies, large and small, that want to collect or keep track of employee activity on Twitter, the social media manager usually creates a List on Twitter. This is problematic primarily because all of the adding and removing of employees needs to be done … [Read more...]
A New Victory in the Social Media Policy Debate
According to an article in yesterday's New York Times, federal regulators are ordering employers to scale back policies that limit what workers can say online. Apparently, the National Labor Relations Board continues to inform private-sector companies that workers have a right to discuss work conditions freely and without fear of retribution -- whether those discussions take place at the office or on Facebook. (Share Clip) Such guidelines set by the National Labor Relations Board, are … [Read more...]
Blogging: Why Bother?
Some say the point to blogging is SEO; others say it's to create thought leadership. The best blogs do both. I'm continually asked by clients about the point to blogging. I also continue to hear excuses as to why they aren't blogging. 'I don't know how to write effectively.' 'How frequently should I blog?' 'I'm not that creative.' 'What if I write something and no one reads it?' ...and the list of excuses goes on and on. True, blogposts are original content pages that … [Read more...]